Weeping Willow 1918 - 1919

This ‘Weeping Willow’ painting, was made by Claude Monet, using oil paints. What strikes me first is how he builds this scene with strokes of color, almost like weaving a tapestry. You can really see the process, how he’s thinking through each dab of paint. The texture is incredible. The brushstrokes are so visible, you can almost feel the energy of his hand moving across the canvas. Look at the way he uses blues and greens to create the density of the foliage, then juxtaposes them with touches of red and yellow to give the tree trunk depth and warmth. Each mark feels deliberate, a dance between observation and interpretation. Notice the lower left-hand corner; the darker colors there feel almost like a nod to Courbet, a certain earthy realism, grounding the more ethereal qualities of the overall scene. Monet's been a huge influence on so many artists, you can see the echoes of his mark-making in the work of Gerhard Richter. Ultimately, this piece embraces the beauty of imperfection, reminding us that art is as much about the journey as it is about the destination.